Reviews (3)

An absolute smasher of a course. Matt is fantastic, he makes lectures fun and interactive (minties for anyone in the audience with a correct answer!) while simultaneously getting his point across. However, if you dislike lecturers going off-topic, think twice about taking 2209: Matt tends to harp on on (seemingly) random tangents roughly six to seven times per lecture, providing lots of entertainment and almost always managing to link it back to the topic at hand. Kudos to him for that.

The content covered is not difficult, it's easily digestible. Topics looked at are relevant to current world events as well as to events in the past, and provide a different perspective on certain matters, which is always interesting. Tutes are great fun as well, huge shout out to Rebecca who made me want to attend my 8am tute every week! Learning activities in tutes are extremely useful in wrapping your head around content, as well as being a lot of fun.

The assessment was a reading review, a research essay and a final exam. The reading review was slightly odd as a piece of assessment, but useful in that it set you up for the research essay and provided you with a solid starting point.

Overall, highly recommend this course.

Semester taken

Semester 1 - 2015

Your program/major

BA/IR

Is lecture attendance necessary?

No, but highly recommended. Lectures are brilliant, Matt never fails to make lectures interesting and fun.

Is the textbook necessary?

No, but I found it useful to have a hard copy instead of the online version.

Now I did this course externally but the only difference between internal and external is the assessment and classes. I didn't intend to take this course since the course I wanted to take wasn't offered anymore in that semester. Personal experience aside, I found this course surprisingly engaging and interesting. The course looks at international security and the issues surrounding it (e.g. poverty, nuclear weapons, terrorism).

Taking the course online requires you to be more active with your studying - if you want to get a good grade that is. The content is easy to find online as Matt uploads the lectures and powerpoints as soon as possible. Even during the lectures (which are recorded for both internal and external students - for the latter we have instant access to these recordings), he addresses external students even if they are not physically present. Matt is a very engaging lecturer who presents the information in an entertaining way. He also replies to emails efficiently so communication is no problem.

The assessment was a weekly blog, reading review, major essay and take home exam. The weekly blog helps you keep up with the content - something quite easy to do as it should be just a page long. The reading review and major essay are both challenging but if you ever need help, Matt is more than willing to provide some guidance. The take home exam is similar to past exams so take a look at the past exams to get an idea for your arguments.

The only downside was the discussion board which Matt encourages participation though not a lot of people provided their opinions. So if you can, make sure you try to participate in the discussion board - even if you don't think your answer is elaborate or fancy enough.

It's a challenging course with engaging content that can be applied to current events. Great course both internally and externally. Definitely recommend!

The lecturer is extremely informative and engaging. Each lecture was a perfect balance of entertainment and content. Plus the tutes were super useful and also planned incredibly well to maximize efficiency. I definitely would recommend.

Semester taken

Semester 2 - 2014

Your program/major

International Studies

Is lecture attendance necessary?

It isn\'t compulsory, but I\'d recommend, probably the least boring out there.

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